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There are 6 modules in this course
What is the future of cycling in our cities that struggle to transition to more sustainable and inclusive forms of mobility? What is the role of innovation in ensuring that cycling becomes easier, safer and more accessible for different groups of people? What are Great Bikes and what are Great Cycling Cities?
In this course we tackle these questions, but we do so without providing recipes, one-size-fits-all solutions or rankings of innovations. Instead, this course helps you to develop your own approach to cycling futures and innovation. It teaches you to ask critical questions about various aspects of cycling practice and its place in mobility systems, about cycling innovation and the way in which various stakeholders imagine cycling futures.
This unique course is grounded in the results of the Smart Cycling Futures project (2016-2020), conducted in the Netherlands but through readings and assignments it engages with the wider world. Course development was made possible by sponsor enviolo.
What will the future of cycling be like? This module introduces you to one of the main ideas of the course: that cycling futures are multiple and contested. You will be introduced to velotopias- visions of urban future in which cycling is the key mode of transportation- and to cycling innovations. You'll learn about the Smart Cycling Futures research project and the paradoxes encountered in researching innovations. You will notice that scholars and innovators have different ideas on how cycling should become a more important part of our lives. The different futures that we envision prioritize different values and different ideas about cities, mobility and human interaction.
In this module you will learn about how cycling and cycling innovations are part of a larger mobility system. First, should the goal of innovations always be to get people to shift to cycling from other modes? And, do innovations forget about the people who are already cycling? How does the practice of cycling fit with other modes? This module will also introduce you to the bike-train system, which has become highly developed in the Netherlands.
Week 2 Introduction with Marco te Brömmelstroet•3 minutes
Maintenance of Cycling Culture with Ruth Oldenziel•1 minute
Cycling as Versatility and Practicality with David Hancock•2 minutes
Bike-Train Culture with Ruth Oldenziel•1 minute
4 readings•Total 110 minutes
Paper Summary - Towards a maintenance-based approach to mode shift: Comparing two cases of Dutch cycling policy using social practice theory•45 minutes
Interviews introduction: The Bike as Part of Mobility Futures•5 minutes
Paper Summary - Scaling up cycling or replacing driving? Triggers and trajectories of bike-train uptake in the Randstad area•45 minutes
Could intercity cycle highways revolutionise the daily commute?•15 minutes
3 assignments•Total 20 minutes
Week 2 Graded Quiz•10 minutes
Towards a maintenance-based approach to mode shift•5 minutes
Scaling up cycling or replacing driving? Triggers and trajectories of bike-train uptake in the Randstad area•5 minutes
Knowledge Clip: Synergies Between Cycling, Public Transport and Urban Planning•10 minutes
Week 3: Reinventing the Bicycle
Module 3•3 hours to complete
Module details
How do innovations change the experience of cycling, its meaning, and how it is governed? This week will introduce you to new technologies and smart innovations, including both bicycles themselves and also bike infrastructure, accessories, and mobile applications. You will learn to recognize how innovations are shaped by the context in which they are developed. You'll understand how innovations can shape futures of cycling, and recognize moments where we may be choosing one future over another. We will also zoom into specifically to the subject of e-bikes, through an academic paper and a conversation with bike component manufacturer enviolo.
Understanding User Needs in Innovations with David Hancock•6 minutes
4 readings•Total 110 minutes
Paper Summary - Smart cycling futures: Charting a new terrain and moving towards a research agenda •45 minutes
Interviews introduction: Reinventing the Bicycle•5 minutes
Paper Summary - Electrically-assisted bikes: Potential impacts on travel behaviour•45 minutes
Imprisoned by Innovation•15 minutes
3 assignments•Total 20 minutes
Week 3 Graded Quiz•10 minutes
Smart cycling futures•5 minutes
Electrically-assisted bikes•5 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 15 minutes
Implications of reinventing the bicycle•15 minutes
Week 4: Reinventing Cycling Spaces
Module 4•3 hours to complete
Module details
This module will look at cycling infrastructure, or: how are we reinventing the spaces where cycling occurs in our cities? You will reflect on what "ideal" cycling infrastructure is and recognize that different types of users, with different needs, share our cycle paths and streets. We will zoom in to the concept of cycling highways - a contested phenomenon- from the perspective of practitioners. We will hear about how smart innovations may influence how different kinds of future cycling spaces function from infrastructure company BAM. Finally, we will focus on how cycling practitioners work, exploring an agile way of working in the context of Amsterdam.
Paper Summary - Collaboration, experimentation, continuous improvement: Exploring an iterative way of working in the Municipality of Amsterdam’s Bicycle Program•45 minutes
What happens if you turn off the traffic lights?•15 minutes
Coronavirus: Will pop-up bike lanes keep new cyclists on the road?•15 minutes
3 assignments•Total 20 minutes
Week 4 Graded Quiz•10 minutes
Practitioners perspective on user experience and design of cycle highways•5 minutes
Preconceptions on "ideal" cycling infrastructure•15 minutes
Week 5: Cycling Futures for All?
Module 5•3 hours to complete
Module details
This module is about the social context of cycling. Who cycles now, and who will in the future? Is cycling less accessible for some than for others? We will hit the tip of the iceberg on what can be done to make cycling more accessible for all. You will see how certain social groups can be excluded or negatively impacted by cycling policies or infrastructure projects, and you will see how this issue is often context dependent. We also ask you to bring your own perspective on this complex issue, and learn from your peers.
Inclusive Cycling with Angela van der Kloof•8 minutes
Cycling and Gentrification with Angela van der Kloof•6 minutes
3 readings•Total 95 minutes
Paper Summary - Cycling behaviour in 17 countries across 6 continents: levels of cycling, who cycles, for what purpose, and how far?•45 minutes
Interviews introduction: Cycling Futures for All?•5 minutes
Paper Summary - Who is ‘World Class?’ Transportation Justice and Bicycle Policy•45 minutes
3 assignments•Total 20 minutes
Week 5 Graded Quiz•10 minutes
Cycling behaviour in 17 countries across 6 continents•5 minutes
Who is ‘World Class?’•5 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 15 minutes
Inclusivity or exclusion: sharing your case•15 minutes
1 plugin•Total 20 minutes
Mama Agatha – how migrant women learn to cycle in Amsterdam•20 minutes
Week 6: Final Assignment
Module 6•9 hours to complete
Module details
In this final module, you will go through an exercise in which you imagine diverging cycling futures yourself. You will then read about the positive imagined utopian futures of your peers. To wrap up the course, you will write an essay that reflects on the limits of our society's collective mobility imagination and how to overcome them.
What's included
1 reading1 peer review1 discussion prompt
Show info about module content
1 reading•Total 120 minutes
Exercise: Imagine yourself in 2050•120 minutes
1 peer review•Total 360 minutes
Final Assignment: The Limits of "Our" Imagination•360 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 30 minutes
Sharing your positive 2050 utopia•30 minutes
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A modern university with a rich history, the University of Amsterdam
(UvA) traces its roots back to 1632, when the Golden Age school Athenaeum
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with more than 44,000 students, 6,000 staff and 285 study programmes
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enviolo products and services empower bike manufacturers to build bikes which change people’s lifestyles, taking fewer trips in cars and more trips on bikes. A smart range of stepless shifting hubs have been designed to serve different rider needs. Riding a bike with enviolo’s technology means concentrating less on shifting, more on your ride, resulting in a safer and more pleasurable experience.
The enviolo head office is located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Together with OEM and retail partners, enviolo strives for strategic collaborations aiming to grow the premium e-bike segment. Over 100 OEM brands are making enviolo equipped bikes and over 1 million consumers ride on enviolo equipped bikes. Soon you will see enviolo products in every city, every day.
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Learner reviews
4.6
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T
TL
4·
Reviewed on Jul 26, 2022
Interesting perspectives. Exposure to unique ideas and many articles from academia helps frame up new ideas on transportation policy as related to cycling.
S
SE
5·
Reviewed on Jun 19, 2022
Great course, well structured and interesting as usual! ;-)
Yes, this course has been made possible with the support of enviolo. More on enviolo:
enviolo products and services empower bike manufacturers to build bikes which change people’s lifestyles, taking fewer trips in cars and more trips on bikes. A smart range of stepless shifting hubs have been designed to serve different rider needs. Riding a bike with enviolo’s technology means concentrating less on shifting, more on your ride, resulting in a safer and more pleasurable experience.
The enviolo head office is located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Together with OEM and retail partners, enviolo strives for strategic collaborations aiming to grow the premium e-bike segment. Over 100 OEM brands are making enviolo equipped bikes and over 1 million consumers ride onenviolo equipped bikes. Soon you will see enviolo products in every city, every day.
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.